In the foyer

Kate: This exhibition is really interesting, but my head is spinning from all these different topics.
Helen: Limiting the series to a dozen pieces was definitely the right call; any more of the same style would have strained our attention spans. But with a manageable number of exhibits, you can take your time to reflect on both the subject matter and the title of each one.
Robert: I don’t quite get the back-and-forth between the picture and the name. To me, the title needs so much explaining that it doesn’t really clarify the image, and the scene is always too complex to function as a mere illustration of those terms. There must be an ulterior artistic intention behind it.
Conrad: I think, including a moot title simply makes me engage with the subject longer. The term used carries my first impressions a bit further. It’s like an invitation to take a deeper look.
Fred: You’ve almost guessed what the series title “Mental Allegories” wants to express. My little smart companion says that in contemporary art the term “allegorical” is used when a piece is differentiated in the sense that “there is a deeper layer of meaning behind what’s depicted. Without grasping it, you wouldn’t comprehend the artwork’s complex message at all.”
Sophie: And this additional layer of meaning is here specified by the word “mental,” since each piece touches on a psychological phenomenon that the scene is themed around.
Kate: You’re making it sound more complicated than it actually was, though. Were we not having a totally relaxed conversation?
Conrad: And why not? Psychological concepts don’t derive from mystic knowledge; they’re basically everyday experiences, which are only pinned down more or less precisely by theory.
Helen: In any case, we should definitely come back to spot more details, okay?